The present study reports a questionnaire-and interview-based survey into computer and
Internet technologies and their use in intermediate and secondary schools for boys in
Saudi Arabia. Teacher and student questionnaires were developed to collect data from
respondents on their assessment of computer and Internet facilities in their schools and
the extent of the usage they made of them. Additionally, data were sought on teacher
and student computer and Internet skills, how they had acquired these and on whether
they had access to a computer and the Internet at home. Both instruments also included
a series of statements designed to assess teacher and student attitudes towards computer
and their use in school. Questionnaire data were gathered from a sample of 143
teachers and 686 students, drawn from 29 public and private sector intermediate and
secondary schools in the Al-Qasseem region of Saudi Arabia. Supplementary data were
gathered from interview samples of 10 teachers and 18 students drawn from
questionnaire respondents in the same schools.
The study found that even in secondary schools, where computer studies are part of the
formal curriculum and practical computer work is part of the syllabus, teacher and
student respondents reported there being insufficient computers available in computer
suites given student numbers. Few if any schools had Internet connections other than
those provided by the local directorate-general to facilitate communications between the
directorate and school administration staff. Over three-quarters of the teacher and
student respondents reported being able to use a computer keyboard and having basic
word processing skills. Only a few teachers, for the most part, computer studies
specialists, had received any academic training in computers. Most teacher and student
respondents with computing skills had either acquired these with the help of a
colleague/friend or from a family member; others were self-taught. Over 7 in every 10
teachers and students had access to a computer at home. In intermediate schools, few
teachers and students had access to a computer suite. These were those in 'combined'
intermediate and secondary schools, and those in a few private sector schools that had
partnerships with private companies, who provided them with a computer suite, in
return for being allowed to provide computer courses to students (for payment of a fee).
Analysis of teacher and student responses to a series of statements on attitudes towards
the use of computers in schools showed both teachers and students largely welcomed
the computer age and were keen to learn more about computers and to develop their
computer skills.